Without artificial intelligence, it seems there will be no future. Although it raises concerns for many, its presence in business, production, and everyday life is inevitable. The connection between artificial intelligence and machines is what awaits us, emphasizes Neven Svalina, founder and CEO of Centurion from Belišće and innovator, whose company is fully prepared for modern business challenges.
Proof of this is Centurion’s new vehicle CENTmobil, where artificial intelligence is integrated with the machine. CENTmobil is designed for a Croatian company and is a battery-powered remote-controlled cargo vehicle that can transport loads weighing up to 13 tons. Svalina points out that CENTmobil features exceptionally good maneuverability, which is very important for movement through production facilities. Although custom manufacturing is a significant challenge and risk for any company, especially for a small one like Centurion, there was no retreat in the face of the biggest challenge so far, the production of CENTmobil. On the contrary, Svalina is already thinking about the next steps.
He plans to upgrade CENTmobil with pneumatic arms so that the vehicle can load and unload cargo independently. This capability, Svalina believes, would give Centurion a range of advantages over conventional forklifts for transporting cargo.
Croatian Products
He agrees that the application of artificial intelligence often causes fear in people, and in such cases, he sometimes notices resistance. One of the challenges he faces is certainly introducing users to new technologies so that they can accept them more easily.
– Our task as manufacturers is to integrate artificial intelligence and all new technologies in a way that they are safe, useful, and instill confidence in users. We are engaged in the production and development of easy lifting manipulation equipment that can be used in production, logistics, and assembly. Our products enable optimization of workplaces, and their special virtue is that they eliminate discrimination against women, the disabled, and the elderly. Working with our manipulator is very simple and requires no physical effort. In developing and manufacturing manipulation equipment for the industry, we offer completely our own solutions, developing products from scratch, and we are pleased that our products are entirely Croatian. Pneumatic manipulators for transferring and handling cargo are in the highest demand, facilitating the work of workers on machines and production lines. Workers do not have to manually transfer cargo, while at the same time preventing possible damage to the goods being handled. So far, we have had many custom projects, some of which have proven to be very demanding. It is usually the case that when something is ordered custom, it turns out to be challenging to find a solution. The very fact that such a product does not exist on the market indicates that the request itself is unusual. We are always working on new solutions; every company has its requirements, and with that, at least the acceptance or gripper of the cargo changes – Svalina describes.
A New Generation Is Coming
Before venturing into entrepreneurship, Svalina worked for fifteen years as a mechanical engineer at Harburg-Freudenberger in Belišće, which produces machines for plastic and rubber. He then became a manager and head of the technical department at Starco in Beli Manastir, which produces steel rims, before founding a craft in 2014 and then Centurion in 2017. Svalina envisioned the company as having two parts: one part deals with custom engineering, and the other with the development and production of Centurion’s standard products. Svalina’s entrepreneurial journey began in a garage and continued in the Belišće incubator Polet, where he grew from 84 square meters of production space to two halls totaling about 500 square meters with two offices separated from the production area. Centurion began to develop slowly when the first project was completed after the advance payment, and Svalina says that the company Bomark Pak particularly helped Centurion on its business journey by giving them an opportunity and believing in their capabilities, and fruitful cooperation continues.
– My wife Ines Svalina works in the company as an accountant, and my son, who graduated from high school for computer technicians in mechanical engineering, currently works as a locksmith, and our goal is for him to get acquainted with the entire production until he starts working in the job for which he was educated. We collaborate with many companies, such as Protostar from Osijek, which worked with us on the development of remote and sensor control for CENTmobil, and the company Technotrade from the Czech Republic. So far, we have produced manipulators for companies such as the aforementioned Bomark Pak, Franck, PIK Vrbovec, Aluflexpack, Kelteks, Rimac Technology, Spin Valis, Welte GmbH from Germany, and Megaplast from Greece. We mainly operate in the European market and have so far exported our manipulators to Slovenia, Germany, France, Hungary, and Greece, and we emphasize the export of pneumatic manipulators to South America, specifically Ecuador. Our solutions are intended for almost all activities. We see this as an advantage of our products because they have a wide application from the manufacturing and logistics industry to food and possibly military. Since we are a company that applies custom engineering and designs solutions according to the requirements of our customers, our possibilities are endless – Svalina explains.
